Paying for CT scan privately

NotAGolf

NotAGolf

NotAGolf

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My daughter has a heart condition and we've just had some bad news which means they're looking to book her in for a CT scan, and potentially open heart surgery pending the results of the scan.

The NHS doc said the current wait time for a CT scan (for non-General Anesthetic) is approximately 6 weeks. That's not too bad, but it would be nice to get an answer sooner, so I'm thinking of paying to get it done privately. I've never considered paying privately before, so I don't really know what's involved. Is anyone able to shed any light on the process? I've got two concerns really:

1) Would it actually gets done any quicker after getting all the referrals/paperwork in place? Presumably there's still a queue to get it done privately.

2) Would it 'confuse' the situation by switching to non-NHS for the scan? We've been seeing a couple of doctors about the condition for the last few years so I'm not sure if going elsewhere confuses things? I imagine a scan is a scan and it the docs don't care who does the scan, as long as it's done correctly.
 
The doctors in private hospitals all tend to work for the NHS as well anyway, so it's generally it doesn't complicate things.

You just jump the queue a bit and pay a lot of money to do so.
 
NotAGolf said:
My daughter has a heart condition and we've just had some bad news which means they're looking to book her in for a CT scan, and potentially open heart surgery pending the results of the scan.

The NHS doc said the current wait time for a CT scan (for non-General Anesthetic) is approximately 6 weeks. That's not too bad, but it would be nice to get an answer sooner, so I'm thinking of paying to get it done privately. I've never considered paying privately before, so I don't really know what's involved. Is anyone able to shed any light on the process? I've got two concerns really:

1) Would it actually gets done any quicker after getting all the referrals/paperwork in place? Presumably there's still a queue to get it done privately.

2) Would it 'confuse' the situation by switching to non-NHS for the scan? We've been seeing a couple of doctors about the condition for the last few years so I'm not sure if going elsewhere confuses things? I imagine a scan is a scan and it the docs don't care who does the scan, as long as it's done correctly.
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I'm not sure about CT. As its obviously got radiation implications.
But I've had more than one private mri (costing a tiny 370 quid).
I paid, had the scan and results in a week.
Due to my anxiety over health it was worth it to me to know one way or another vs waiting months


But I know they don't offer CTs
 
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413x said:
I'm not sure about CT. As its obviously got radiation implications.
But I've had more than one private mri (costing a tiny 370 quid).
I paid, had the scan and results in a week.
Due to my anxiety over health it was worth it to me to know one way or another vs waiting months


But I know they don't offer CTs
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Yep I've done this same with an MRI. It was very quick.
 

Private CT Scan I Vista Health

The UK's Leading Private CT scan. Book today for immediate access nationwide; no GP referral required.
www.vista-health.co.uk www.vista-health.co.uk

I used vista-health in the past for a few MRIs on my back. It helped my physio change their treatment, and since then my recovery from my sports has increased dramatically as we know how my body reacts to certain injuries. I have a copy of my MRI still to hand, and can access it on my phone.

The physio and my GP practice (who I barely see) also have it on record (I consented to it).

I thought it was very cheap, and the review / write up from the consultant was also comprehensive.

When I booked it I could go literally the next day, or wait a week and save £200.
 
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NotAGolf said:
1) Would it actually gets done any quicker after getting all the referrals/paperwork in place? Presumably there's still a queue to get it done privately.
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Not always, I’ve had scans like this done privately within days sometimes.

You just need a referral, ideally from the consultant you saw originally. Some NHS hospitals offer private scans and treatment as well, my local hospital does. I’ve paid to have scans there privately and they do it after hours.
 
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Google "private CT scan" and then book it. Plenty of companies offering.

It will be quicker. As long as you get copies of the scan and written interpretation of the results by a medical professional it should be fine, although the NHS are useless so they'll probably find a way to muck it up.
 
I paid for a private MRI. Results were very quick and they gave me an opinion by their resident consultant. However I couldn't send these to my NHS GP or consultant, it was completely ridiculous, apparently there was no way to add it to my file.
 
MikeTheNative said:
I paid for a private MRI. Results were very quick and they gave me an opinion by their resident consultant. However I couldn't send these to my NHS GP or consultant, it was completely ridiculous, apparently there was no way to add it to my file.
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That’s why it’s always best to try and get the consultant you are under to make a referral, that way they should get the results sent to them. I agree it is crazy I’ve had this myself.

Regrettably I’ve probably spent about 10k going private over the last three or four years. Living with chronic health conditions have made going via the NHS and their 12+ waiting times almost impossible. The NHS is generally good when you can see someone, but the state of the system is absolutely shocking when you live with debilitating/worsening health problems. Sad state of affairs. It’s honestly worth paying sometimes, a few hundred quid to see a consultant instead of waiting months on end, it’s honestly a no brainer (I appreciate not always that easy, not like I’ve got loads of money either).
 
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I've had a ct scan done via the BMI hospitals. The appointment was within the week.

If you can find a private doctor (you can search for them on the site) that works in the same hospital and department of the hospital you're at then that would be the golden ticket.

I assume the private hospital have there own people that read the scans. I had a scan done months ago and everyone is still waiting for a radiologist to read it.
 
Don't blame you if you want anything done with any kind of urgency you have to go private and thats the sad truth mother's been waiting for a hip op for more than two years was supposed to have an appointment last week took a taxi to the hospital when she got there was told it had been postponed yet again (last postponement was a month ago)

Was speaking to someone in a shop when last there when subject came up she said she'd paid 10k to have hers done was done in weeks if not days. I pay for podiatrist visits you can get an appointment in a day or two if I went via NHS it'd be months of referrals and waiting and she also or rather used to, work NHS
 
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rare said:
That’s why it’s always best to try and get the consultant you are under to make a referral, that way they should get the results sent to them. I agree it is crazy I’ve had this myself.

Regrettably I’ve probably spent about 10k going private over the last three or four years. Living with chronic health conditions have made going via the NHS and their 12+ waiting times almost impossible. The NHS is generally good when you can see someone, but the state of the system is absolutely shocking when you live with debilitating/worsening health problems. Sad state of affairs. It’s honestly worth paying sometimes, a few hundred quid to see a consultant instead of waiting months on end, it’s honestly a no brainer (I appreciate not always that easy, not like I’ve got loads of money either).
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I had to book my own MRI as the NHS wouldn't give me one. Gp requested MRI for an possible ACL injury. After 4 weeks they denied it and I had to go back to the end of the queue for an xray....... so I paid for an MRI two days later.
Got an appointment for a consultant two weeks later and rung around/emailed beforehand but there was no way of giving him my scans. Should have surgery really but waiting time would be so long he said don't bother and just rehab the injury back.
I did get a NHS physio appointment 14 months after the injury when I was already back in rugby training. I'm just lucky I could afford my own MRI and physio (and didn't have a physical job) otherwise I would be in serious crap.
 
Thanks for for the feedback all. Hearing about the cases where you got the scan, but then not being able to take your results to the relevant person, or having to wait ages to have the results reviewed, is exactly what I was concerned about.
 
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